The world of HR encompasses a wide diversity of areas. From recruiting candidates for hire to developing safety training materials, professionals in this field must be familiar with virtually anything that deals with the companies most valuable resources, their employees. While a bachelor’s degree in HR is a requirement for many human resources positions, this degree is normally designed to get the new kid on the block into entry level positions. Since human resources deals with a wide range of company policies, procedures and government regulations, securing the experience and training to become proficient is a necessity and not simply a plus to land the right job. Therefore, it is important for the new HR graduate to talk with others in the field to find out what kind of development and training is needed to move forward.
Related Resource: Entry Level Human Resources Jobs
HR Internships
In some cases, students who major in HR are provided with opportunities to complete an internship at one of the businesses in their local or surrounding area. This kind of training can help to develop the student in many areas prior to graduation. One of which includes how to work with employees who have been hurt on the job. The role that these interns normally play involves talking with the employee about the care that they will need. For instance, if the employee broke their leg while they were working on the property, the intern may be required to contact the appropriate medical facilities to set-up the employee’s medical appointments. Prior to setting up the appointment, however, it is important for the intern to review and understand the policies, procedures and laws as they relate to workman’ compensation. Once the intern understands the associated laws and policies, their primary job is to make sure the injured person gets what they need as soon as possible. The type of training that they receive can make the difference between employees sitting at home on the clock and being productive on the job.
Specialized Training and Development
After the HR professional has obtained their degree, they are usually equipped to handle entry-level job positions. The entry-level jobs are normally administrative support positions. These types of positions may entail entering employee documentation into an HR database and retrieving data when requested. Before the information can be entered, however, it must comply with the companies policies and procedures or government regulations. For instance, when a candidate gets the new job, they may be required to pass a pre-employment drug test. The laws for this kind of test, however, do not apply to all employees. Instead, the entry level employee will need to determine what types of jobs require a drug test to be administered.
Upper Level Management Training
Since HR involves a multitude of areas (Safety, Recruitment, Benefits, Tuition Refund, Compensation, HRIS and the like), the individual may be considering applying for an upper management positions that consists of all of these areas. To obtain this kind of position, the employee may be required to have employee recruitment training, OSHA training, HR Information Systems and benefits in order to run a diverse operation filled with all of the associated HR positions.
